Umbrella frame

ABSTRACT

The umbrella is a three-stage type of umbrella having a telescopic stick, including three telescoping sections and dome ribs, each of which include three folding sections with parallel support means or members for articulating the three folding dome rib sections and a strut member including a geats adapted to slide on the parallel support member adjacent the crown so that when the three dome rib sections are folded closed, the strut can move axially nearer the crown thereby enabling the umbrella to be shortened.

United States Patent [1 1 Schafer Dec. 10, 1974 [5 UMBRELLA FRAME 1,249,007 12/1917 Block 135/25 R 1,908,453 5/1933 Schmidt l35/25 R [75] Invent Jsef schafe" 501mg, Germany 2,761,461 9/1956 Mappin et al 135/25 R [73] Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada 7 Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Mitchell; Alan [22] Filed. Apr. 16, 1973 Swabey [21] App]. No.: 351,369

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Dat The umbrella is a three-stage type of umbrella having Apr. 22, 1972 Germany 2219765 a eleswpic Stick, minding three telescoping sectttns and dome ribs, each of which include three folding 52 US. Cl 135/25 R Sections with Parallel SuPPott means members tot 51 Int. Cl A45b 19/00 articulating the three folding dome rib Sectiohs and a 58 Field of Search 135/20, 25, 26 Strut member including 3 seats adapted to Slide the I parallel support member adjacent the crown so that [56] References Cited when the three dome rib sections are folded closed, the strut can move axially nearer the crown thereby UNITED STATES PATENTS enabling the umbrella to be shortened. 580,159 4/1897 Ladewig 135/25 R 954,357 4/1910 Susemihl 135/25 R 7 C l0 Drawlng Flgures PATENTHJ Dim 0:974

sum 30M PATENTEU sac 01974 SHEET s 0F 4 UMBRELLA FRAME BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an umbrella, and more particularly to an umbrella which can be shortened when the umbrella is collapsed and not in use.

2. Description of Prior Art It is of advantage in the construction of umbrellas to construct them such that they are as small as possible so that when the umbrella is not in use, it can be easily stowed in a purse or an overcoat pocket. Many developments have been made in recent years to redeuce the size of the umbrella when not in use i.e. the stick and the dome ribs are made of three sections which can be collapsed, either by telescoping the sections or by a combination of telescoping the dome rib sections and folding them.

The main disadvantage in the so-called three-stage umbrellas is that the dome ribs are not easily controlled when opening the umbrella by means of moving the main runner on the stick.

In a recent development, an umbrella has been constructed wherein the three sections of each dome rib fold in a zig-Zag fashion so that the sections stack one on another. Two stretcher members for each dome rib are provided hinged to the main runner with the first stretcher pivoted to the outer end of the first dome rib section hinged to the crown of the umbrella, while the second stretcher is hinged to the hinge point of the outer dome rib section with the median dome rib section. This latter stretcher member must be relatively long and, therefore, it determines the length of the um- SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an aim of the present invention to provide a three-stage umbrella. wherein the dome ribs are of the foldable type and wherein sufficient remote control is provided to open and close the three umbrella sections by means of moving the main runner on the stick, yet the umbrella is capable of being shortened to a length comparable with conventional three-stage umbrellas.

A construction in accordance with the present invention includes an umbrella having a stick, a crown at one end of the stick, a main runner slidable on the stick, dome ribs hinged from the crown, each dome rib including a first section hinged to the crown, a median section hinged to the first section and adapted to fold over the first section, and a third section hinged to the outer end of the median section and adapted to fold over on the median section, a first support section hinged to the stick and extending substantially parallel to the first dome rib section, and a second support section hinged to the first support section at its inner end, and to the third dome rib section at its outer end and extending substantially parallel to the median section and strut means hinged to the main runner at one end and to a geats at the otherend adapted to slide on the first support section.

Such a construction provides a parallelogram type of control to the first median and outer section of the dome rib by means of the parallel support structure and the strut means. When the umbrella is folded and being collapsed, the strut means canbe moved axially, parallel to the first support section by means of the geats to which it is hinged, sliding on the first support section. The folding support sections and dome rib sections are adapted to nest one within-the other when they are folded in a stacked position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration, a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a frangmentary side elevation of the umbrella frame when it is in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the umbrella shown in FIG. 1, but in a different operable position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the umbrella in a sequential position as compared to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the umbrella frame shown in a closed collapsed position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary axial cross section of the umbrella frame showing certain details thereof;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a detail of the structure;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of a further detail;

FIG. 8 is'a cross section taken along lines VIIIVIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation of a further detail; and

FIG. 10 is a radial cross section taken along lines XX of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and especially FIGS. 1 to 4, the umbrella is shown having a telescopic stick 1 with telescopic sections 2, 3 and 4. A crown 5 is fixed to one end of stick section 2 and dome ribs 7 are hinged to the periphery of the crown 5. The dome ribs 7 are hinged to the crown 5 by means of a continuous conventional wire 8 as shown in FIG. 5, which is accommodated in the peripheral groove 9. Each dome rib 7 includes an inner section 7a, which is hinged to the crown 5, and a median section 7b, hinged at a hinge point 18 spaced from the end of the section 7a. An outer dome rib section 7c is finally pivoted to the end of dome rib section 7b at the hinge point 16. In the folding of the umbrella, section 7b is adapted to pivot clockwise so that it lies on the section 7a, while the section is adapted to pivot counterclockwise so that it overlays the section 7b.

A fixed runner 25 is fixed to the stick adjacent the crown 5.

In the specific embodiment shown in the drawings, the crown 5 is an elliptical crown with diametrically extending wings 5' and 5". It is the crown which determines the eventual shape of the umbrella when the umbrella is collapsed and therefore the particular umbrella shown here will be of the known flat style.

The runner 25 includes an annular ring having a peripheral groove 24 in which a wire 23 is provided for hinging the support member 22. The support member 22 is of wire-shaped construction and is hinged at its free end to a second support section 12 at hinge, pin 21. The end of the support section 22 is angled at 22' as shown in the drawings and as will be described later. Support member 12is hinged at 19 spaced from the end or hinge point 21 providing a section 20. Finally, the other end of the support member 12 is hinged to th outer dome rib sections 7c at hinge pin 17.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the support members 22 and 12 are substantially parallel and form quadrilateral or parallelogram linkages with the dome rib sections 7a and 7b respectively. The support members 12 and 22 are connected with each of the dome rib sections, including outer section 70.

A main runner is adapted for sliding movement on the stick 1 and includes an axially-extending sleeve. 34 and an annular peripheral ring to'which the strut members 11 are hinged. The runner 10 is of the type having a locking lever 40 which engages preselected holes in the wall of the stick for maintaining the umbrella in a closed position or in a fully open position.

The other end of the strut 11 is hinged at 28 to a geats 26 which is adapted to slide on the support member 22. In the normal operation of the umbrella, the geats 26 sits on the bent portion 22 of the support member 22 near the hinge point 21. The geats 26 is shown more clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8 and includes legs 27 through which the hinge pin 28 passes.

FIG. 9 shows clearly the relationship of the geats 26 on the bent portion 22 when the umbrella is in a fully open position. When the umbrella is in a partially or fully open position and the geats 26 is seated on the bent portion 22', the web portion of the channelshaped strut member 11 engages the support member 22 at the bend between the bent portion 22', as shown in FIG. 9, and locks the geats in that position. However, when the umbrella is collapsed by moving the runner 10 downwardly thereby pulling at the hinge 21 and forcing the parallel support structures 12 and 22 to pivot the dome rib sections 7a, 7b and 7c to a closed position such as shown in FIG. 3, the geats 26 can then move freely upwardly on the support member 22 to allow the strut 11 to assume a resin adjacent and'receiving in a nested fashion the support member 22, as shown in FIG. 4.

The strut member 11, as mentioned above, is of channel-shaped construction, and'the legs thereof are open away from the stick so as to nest the support member 22.

The dome rib section 7a is also of channel-shaped construction with the legs open away from the stick. This is shown quite clearly in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 10. The dome rib section 7b is of channelshaped construction, slightly smaller than the inner cross section of the dome rib section 7a and nests therewithin. The support member 12 is of somewhat box-shaped construction (as shown in FIG. 10) and has a smaller cross section than the inner outline of the dome rib section 7b and nests within the dome rib section 7b. Finally, the outer section 7c is of wire construction of circular cross section and overlies the members as shown in FIG. 10.

Indents are provided in the legs of the U-shaped cross section at 37, 38 and 39 so as to accommodate the hinge pins 18 when the umbrella is closed, and 16 and 19 when the umbrella is open, respectively.

An optional feature is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein the runner 25 includes extensions 30 spaced web from the surface of the stick which engages the 29 of the strut 11 when the strut 11 is moved axially upwardly as the geats slides on the support section 22. The web 29 is shown engaged by the tip 30 of the extension. This feature provides for retaining the parallelogram structures in a closed position while the umbrella is collapsed. It is only when the main runner 10 is drawn downwardly on an extended umbrella stick that the webs 29 will be released from the tips 30 thereby allowing the parallelogram linkages to be opened.

In order to help the initial pivoting movements of the parallelogram structure, a flexible or resilient flange 31, having a periphery 32 and a collar 33 engaging the sleeve 34 is provided immediately above the pivoting annular ring of the main runner 10. The resilient flange 32 presses against the web 29 of the strut 11 forcing it outwardly once it is disengaged from the tip 30.

I claim:

1. An umbrella frame comprising a stick, a crown at one end of the stick, a main runner slidable on the stick, dome ribs hinged from the crown; each dome rib including a first section hinged to the crown, a median section hinged to the first section and adapted to fold over the first section, and a third section hinged to the outer end of the median section and adapted to fold over on the median section; a first support member hinged to the stick and extending substantially parallel to the first dome rib section, and a second support member hinged to the first support member and to the third dome rib section and extending substantially parallel to the median section, the outer end of the inner dome rib being hinged at its outer end to the second support member at a point spaced from the hinge of the inner section and the median section, and the hinge point of the first support member and the second support member being spaced from the hinge point of the inner dome rib section and the second support member, and strut means hinged to the main runner at one end and to a geats at the other end adapted to slide on the first support section.

2. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the inner dome rib section is hinged at its outer end to the second support member at a point spaced from the inner end of the second support member, and the median dome rib section is hinged to the inner dome rib section at a point spaced from the end of the inner dome rib section, and the second support member is hinged to the outer dome rib section at a point spaced from the inner end of the outer dome rib section so as to form parallelogram linkages.

3. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2, wherein the first support member is bent near the hinge point with the second support member to accommodate the geats during opening and closing operations of the umbrella.

4. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the main runner is provided with a resilient flange adapted to urge the strut members to pivot outwardly from the stick.

5. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 3, wherein the strut member is of channel-shaped cross section and the first support member is of wire construction and adapted to nest within the channel-shaped cross sec-tion of the strut member when the umbrella is in a fully closed position, the first dome rib section is of channel-shaped cross section open away from the stick, and the median dome rib section is of channel cross section open in a direction away from the stick and is from and adapted to engage a web of the first support member when the umbrella is in a fully closed position, thereby locking the structure preventing it from accidentally opening.

7. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the stick is made upof three telescopic sections. 

1. An umbrella frame comprising a stick, a crown at one end of the stick, a main runner slidable on the stick, dome ribs hinged from the crown; each dome rib includinG a first section hinged to the crown, a median section hinged to the first section and adapted to fold over the first section, and a third section hinged to the outer end of the median section and adapted to fold over on the median section; a first support member hinged to the stick and extending substantially parallel to the first dome rib section, and a second support member hinged to the first support member and to the third dome rib section and extending substantially parallel to the median section, the outer end of the inner dome rib being hinged at its outer end to the second support member at a point spaced from the hinge of the inner section and the median section, and the hinge point of the first support member and the second support member being spaced from the hinge point of the inner dome rib section and the second support member, and strut means hinged to the main runner at one end and to a geats at the other end adapted to slide on the first support section.
 2. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the inner dome rib section is hinged at its outer end to the second support member at a point spaced from the inner end of the second support member, and the median dome rib section is hinged to the inner dome rib section at a point spaced from the end of the inner dome rib section, and the second support member is hinged to the outer dome rib section at a point spaced from the inner end of the outer dome rib section so as to form parallelogram linkages.
 3. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2, wherein the first support member is bent near the hinge point with the second support member to accommodate the geats during opening and closing operations of the umbrella.
 4. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the main runner is provided with a resilient flange adapted to urge the strut members to pivot outwardly from the stick.
 5. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 3, wherein the strut member is of channel-shaped cross section and the first support member is of wire construction and adapted to nest within the channel-shaped cross section of the strut member when the umbrella is in a fully closed position, the first dome rib section is of channel-shaped cross section open away from the stick, and the median dome rib section is of channel cross section open in a direction away from the stick and is adapted to nest within the inner dome rib section while the second support member is of a cross section such that it will nest within the median dome rib section.
 6. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 5, wherein the first support members are hinged to a fixed annular ring on the stick near the crown and axial projections are provided on the ring extending downwardly therefrom and adapted to engage a web of the first support member when the umbrella is in a fully closed position, thereby locking the structure preventing it from accidentally opening.
 7. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the stick is made up of three telescopic sections. 